Most Super Bowl advertisers put a glitzy commercial in the game and hope for the best. Anheuser-Busch wants viewers to have a stake in the pitch that gets presented on Game Day.
Bud Light made two different ads starring Post Malone, and is asking fans to help pick which of the pair ought to run on Sunday, when Fox telecasts Super Bowl LIV from Miami Gardens, Florida. Both spots promote Bud Light Seltzer, a new product, and not the beer which has been synonymous with Super Bowl advertising for decades.
“The brand is going to open up the biggest marketing moment of the year to the fans,” says Andy Goeler, vice president of marketing for Bud Light, in an interview. “I think fans will tune in Sunday to see what the final choice was and what we decided to run.”
Light. “
Bud Light will use press coverage to drive interested Super Bowl ad aficionados to its various social channels, where they can watch two different commercials. One spot gives viewers a look into how Post Malone’s brain processes a visit to a convenience store that offers both Bud Light and Bud Light Seltzer, while the other follows him into a bar where he discovers a mango-flavored version of the new product.
Bud Light isn’t the only Super Bowl advertiser hoping to do more to harness consumer interest in the days leading up to the gridiron classic. Kraft Heinz’s Planters has captured some attention by killing off its spokes-character, Mr. Peanut, in a teaser ad.